A new hat for New York

Adam and I went to New York for a few days, leaving the kids behind with family (thank again, you guys!). Let's just say that it was awesome. It was our first time in the city, and we managed to cover a lot of ground, but I'm already plotting a return because there is just SO MUCH.

Before the trip I set a new personal knitting record by completing something in only a week. I knit slowly and get distracted, so a seven-day turn around is very nearly miraculous. But bulky yarn is the best, and knitting in the round isn't as scary as I feared, so I managed to finish Adam's waffle hat in time for us to leave our own cold and snowy region for a different cold and snowy region.

I was really happy with the yarn, some Malabrigo chunky. It had a nice firm-but-squishy thing going on that felt good to knit with. And the pattern was great too. I still consider myself very beginner level, and this had a couple of challenges (knitting in the round! a slightly more involved stitch pattern than I've used before!) but was still easy enough that I could chat a little while working on it and not lose my place.

Hat details on Ravelry here.

The sweater

You may remember that I started a sweater back in June. A sweater for the impending arrival. Well, the arrival is now four months old, and I finished the sweater on Christmas eve.



And not a moment too soon. Quinn is a big boy. Thank goodness Adam convinced me to go with the 3-6-month size all those months ago, because that means he might be able to wear this thing for about three days.



As you can see, the sleeves and width are temporarily okay, but the body is sooooo short. Would definitely add length next time.



So not a total success (and I won't even get into the messily stitched spots), but, hey, I made a sweater! Yay!



On Ravelry here.

Statement of Intention

I am going to knit a sweater for the baby.

There. Now it is out there, you know all about it, and I will actually accomplish it. Because that's how it works, right?

Seriously, though. Make me finish this. I like knitting, but so far all of my projects have been rectangles. True story. A sweater, even a very small sweater, feels like I'm taking things up about five million notches. So I'm a bit intimidated, to say the least. But I have picked a pattern*, purchased appropriate needles**, and chosen my yarn***.  So I'm already on my way!



*It looks like it might not be the hardest thing ever. Fingers crossed.

**On my second try...that says something about my ability to read and follow instructions, I think. Sigh.

***So soft! So pretty! I wish I could knit more quickly so I'd be able to pick out yarn more often.

Easy Fingerless Mitts, finally

Despite the fact that "easy" is right there in the pattern name, it took me all winter to knit these babies. They were plenty easy, I guess, but I am a very slow knitter and am not yet with-it enough when it comes to knitting to do it while watching TV or carrying on much of a conversation.



I started them in October with plans to wear them in the fall, but luckily (?) fingerless-mitt-appropriate weather ought to last another month around here at least, so they'll be my spring mitts instead.



If I can tear them away from Adelaide, that is.



More info on Ravelry.

Back to basics

Apparently, all the KCWC sewing (here, here, here, here, and here) kinda wiped me out. Or something.

I'm going to get back in there and finish those jammies soon, I promise, but right now I needed something a little more slow, cozy, and relaxed.



Perfect.*

*Perfect in that a little easy knitting is slow, cozy, and relaxed. Not perfect in the sense of actual knitting proficiency. Halfway through, I realized I'd been doing it wrong. It holds together just fine, but there is a clearly visible difference between the part I was doing my made-up way and the part where I started doing it the right way. But it's a practice dishcloth, so I'm okay with that.

Off the needles!

I finished my first knitting project!



I keep calling it a scarf, but I guess it is a "slouchy cowl" (or so says the pattern, anyway).

Once I got the hang of it, knitting was quite fun. And I love the seed stitch pattern...aren't all the little bumps lovely?



The yarn was Misti Alpaca Chunky, which is amazingly soft. Plus, I love how chunky yarn on big needles (size 17) knits up so quickly.

Knitting is just so freakin' cool. I mean, I poked some yarn around on some sticks and it turned into fabric. How awesome is that? So awesome.

A billion hours and one complete meltdown later...

Thanks to an awesome Christmas gift from Adam (who went to the local yarn shop and got a how-to book and the necessary yarn and needles for a project) I am learning to knit! Yay!

The first five or six hours were spent casting on, doing two or three rows, unraveling, and repeating, until I had an utterly epic meltdown. (Sorry, Adam!) But I got back on the horse, and proper knitting ensued! How exciting!